What is it that humans fear most?
Some fear ghosts, while others fear beasts. However, most fears arise when facing unknown entities or targets beyond one's control.
And the source of that fear is mostly connected to death. When one thinks that something poses a grave threat to their life, they come to fear that entity.
In that sense, So-dong was currently experiencing extreme terror.
"Uaaaaaaaaaah!"
The palace hall viewed from the sky looked just like a toy. The sight of a massive hall that could easily accommodate hundreds of people appearing like wooden blocks that children played with was stimulating his fear to the extreme.
How high is this going to go?
He had already risen this much, yet he continued to ascend. Continuously. That fact was making So-dong unable to endure it.
That what goes up must eventually change direction and fall was something one could understand without deep learning. And unfortunately, the child was an intelligent person who knew all too well what was about to happen to him.
"Ah? Aah… Ah!"
His body, which had been surging upward with vigor, began to slow down, then seemed to stop in mid-air for a moment.
"N-no!"
Whitish things could be seen around him. The moment So-dong realized those were clouds, he began letting out desperate screams as he plummeted toward the ground.
"Uaaaaaaaaaah! Save meeeeee! Uaaaaaaaaaah!"
So-dong flailed his arms and legs frantically, but humans without wings couldn't possibly fly through the sky. Though to begin with, it made no sense that a person without wings could float up to this place anyway.
The ground was surging upward at an insane speed. In reality, he was falling toward the ground, but to his eyes, it appeared as though the ground was rushing up toward him at a terrifying velocity.
"Uaaaaaaaaaaah!"
The descent was so fast that he was completely out of his mind. No, perhaps being out of his mind would be better. If he maintained clear consciousness right now, he might go insane.
"Hiiik! Hiiiik! Uaaah! Hiiik!"
It felt like a fierce wind was blowing from below to above, making it hard to keep his eyes open.
The ground drew closer and closer.
At the same time, his life thus far began flashing before his eyes like a panorama.
He had lived a life without regrets… No, this isn't it!
The palace hall that had looked like wooden blocks began returning to its proper size, and the ground rushed up toward his face at a terrifying speed. Just before reaching the point of collision with the ground, all strength left his entire body.
"Uaaaah! Save meeeeeeee!"
The moment he screamed while spewing tears and snot!
Thunk!
His body swayed, and his face stopped just one inch from the ground.
"Huff, huff! Huuuff! Huff!"
Cold sweat began pouring out like a waterfall. He had tensed his body so much that his entire body felt tingly and numb.
"How's that? Do you think you know what the concept is now?"
The moment he heard that voice with a slight hint of laughter, So-dong's rage exploded. The rebound from the fear he had felt to the extreme was mercilessly stimulating his anger.
"I'll kill you! I'll definitely kill you! Even if you beg for your life now, I will never forgive you. You bastard! You bastaaaard! I'll wipe out your entire family…"
"Mm. Still not enough."
"What?"
Whiiiiish!
"Uaaaaaaaaaaah!"
Watching So-dong soar high into the sky again, Wei Yan-ho placed his hand above his eyebrows and squinted.
"Did I throw him too hard this time?"
He had thrown him stronger than before. But well, that guy had enough backbone to curse first even after going through that ordeal, so this much should be fine.
"This looks like it could be fun, right?"
If someone threw Wei Yan-ho up, Wei Yan-ho was confident he could enjoy it, but this was something difficult to do unless you were Wei Yan-ho, so he could only smack his lips in regret.
If Master were alive, he could probably throw Wei Yan-ho ten times farther than Wei Yan-ho threw others, but… Master was already dead.
"He's coming down."
"Aaaaaaaaaaah!"
Wei Yan-ho caught the falling So-dong's leg. Considering the rebound force from his descent, it wouldn't be strange if his leg got torn off, but Wei Yan-ho wasn't someone who couldn't think of that much. Wei Yan-ho, who had precisely used his qi to reduce the rebound, asked So-dong who was hanging upside down:
"Have you reflected a bit now?"
"You son of a…"
Whiiiiish!
"Uaaaaaaaaaah!"
Wei Yan-ho shook his head.
"I have to acknowledge that level of backbone. He's really a tough bastard."
A tough bastard was cursing another tough bastard.
"You bastard!"
Whiiiiiish!
"I'll kill…"
Whiiiiiish!
"No, I've been thinking, and if you ask for forgiveness…"
Whiiiiish!
"L-let's stop this now. I won't hold you responsible."
Whiiiiiiish!
"…Save me…"
Whiiiiiiish!
"I, I was wrong."
Whiiish.
"Waaah, I was wrong! Please save me! Waaaaaaah!"
Seeing him wailing, Wei Yan-ho seemed satisfied and lowered So-dong to the ground. So-dong's arms and legs were trembling so much that he couldn't sit properly and collapsed on the ground.
"Get up."
"…"
"Want to go up again?"
"Hiiik!"
When So-dong bolted upright, Wei Yan-ho bonked his head.
So-dong hung his head low.
"Listen carefully."
"Yes."
"I may be the world's greatest lazy bum and have no right to lecture others, but you were too extreme."
"…"
"People only understand the feelings of those who get beaten after being beaten themselves, and only understand the fear of those who die after nearly dying themselves. You speak of death too easily. That's because you've never had an experience of nearly dying."
So-dong nodded frantically.
"A person dying isn't as simple as you think. It means never being able to meet again. That's sadder and harder than you think. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
"…"
"Do you understand?"
"Yes."
When So-dong answered while sniffling, Wei Yan-ho quietly gazed at the distant sky.
"Not being able to see someone again is sad. Whether it's a good person or an annoying person you want to hit once."
Wei Yan-ho's voice was uncharacteristically subdued. However, So-dong was too dazed to notice Wei Yan-ho's change at all.
"You, right now you're so reckless that you speak carelessly, but you're lucky you met a good person like me. If you meet bad people, you'll really suffer terribly. The world isn't as easy as you think. Got it?"
So-dong's body trembled.
"How dare you say such things to me…"
Thump!
Wei Yan-ho delivered a powerful punch to the head of So-dong, who was trying to resist, smashing him into the ground, then nodded.
"Right, that's it. That much won't do. Humans don't change easily. I know from experience that it's never easy for a person to receive enough shock to be reformed."
Crack, crack.
Wei Yan-ho twisted his neck left and right.
Pop, pop.
He even shook his fingers to loosen them completely, then clasped his hands together and stretched them behind his head, bending them left and right. Having perfectly prepared his body, Wei Yan-ho approached So-dong, who was rolling on the ground clutching his head, and grinned wickedly.
"I like people with backbone."
"…"
"Keep maintaining that backbone."
"Hiiik?"
Despair descended upon So-dong's face.
"You better listen properly."
"Yes!"
So-dong was surpassing his own limits. Considering his age, just enduring with his head planted in the ground would be no easy task, yet the boy was performing the miracle of lifting one leg up from there.
The single leg supporting his body weight along with his head trembled pitifully, but Wei Yan-ho was merciless.
"Your leg is dropping. Want to get up?"
"No!"
The boy desperately lifted his leg again.
He must not get up.
Though this current situation was painful, what would happen after he raised his body would be several times more horrifying. That merciless demon was undoubtedly the greatest of all time when it came to beating people.
He beat people so painfully that with each blow, one could truly understand what it meant for pain to reach the bones.
"Those who've been beaten understand the pain of those being beaten, and only those who've nearly died understand the terror of those who die."
Wei Yan-ho yawned widely, then spoke with a bored expression, tears trickling from his eyes.
"Do you understand a bit now?"
"Yes!"
"Really?"
"Yes!"
"It doesn't seem like it yet… You haven't been beaten enough yet? I think you need to be beaten a bit more to understand?"
"No! I understand completely."
"Are you that quick to understand? Ah, they said you're incredibly smart, right? That you were called a prodigy?"
"Yes, that's right! That's why I really understand completely!"
"Then why did a smart guy act like that?"
"…"
"If you're smart, you should behave well on your own, shouldn't you?"
"I'm sorry. I was stupid."
"Even if you're stupid, you should know what you need to know. Just because you're stupid, you're not going to stop eating, are you?"
"…"
What am I supposed to do!
Curses kept trying to spill out of his mouth, but So-dong desperately suppressed the curses that were about to flow out.
Somehow, if he could just get through this moment! Just this moment! If he could just escape this situation, that vicious bastard…
"You're thinking about how to get revenge right now, aren't you?"
"Yes! No! I'm not! I absolutely am not!"
"This is why they say you shouldn't raise black-haired beasts. I'm teaching you the truths of life right now, but instead of being grateful, you're having other thoughts. Tsk tsk tsk."
So-dong closed his eyes.
If he kept them open, tears seemed like they would well up.
"Are you crying?"
"N-no…"
"Geez, a grown man whimpering like a little girl just because he got beaten a bit. A guy like that talks about killing people, skinning people… How can someone so weak pretend to be vicious? A guy with no backbone."
Even with ten mouths, he had nothing to say.
"Anyway, I gave you a good lesson, so accept it gratefully. I'm too lazy to beat you anymore now, so later when you learn about me, you'll realize how much effort I put in for you. Tsk."
That's when it happened.
"Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiik!"
A sound like a person's soul leaving their body was heard.
"Huh? I didn't throw him?"
It was a sound similar to when Wei Yan-ho threw So-dong into the sky. When one is so shocked and desperate that they have much to say but only the sound of air escaping comes from their mouth, that kind of sound emerges.
"Cr-Cr-Cr… Cr… Crown!"
Crown?
Wei Yan-ho turned his head to look in the direction the sound came from.
Wow, that person is really pale.
Someone who appeared to be a eunuch was looking this way. The strange thing was that the eunuch's face was extremely white.
Like, how should I put it…
It looks like all the blood has drained from his face.
As if he's extremely shocked.
No, wait. Is he extremely shocked?
"Crown Prince, Your Highnessssss!"
The eunuch screamed in horror and came running, then tumbled forward. But as soon as he fell, he ran on all fours like a beast and rushed to So-dong, then lifted him up.
"Huh?"
"Crown Prince Your Highness, are you alright? Crown Prince Your Highness! Call the royal physician immediately! Immediately!"
Crown Prince…
Mm, that referred to the emperor's son.
Mm…
Wei Yan-ho nodded contentedly and turned around.
He had given a good lesson to someone who would become emperor in the future, so it was a job well done. Then… mm, for now…
Let's run.
Right now!